Drumconnor Lad had to work hard to land the odds in the Race Displays Rated Novice Chase at Navan this afternoon.

Adrian Keatley 's charge was sent to post a 4/6 shot for the two-mile one-furlong contest having been as big as 7/4 in the morning. Robin Des Mana made the running and proved a tough nut to crack on the run-in.

Mark Walsh arrived to challenge three from home on the hotpot but only got the better of his foe on the run-in for a hard-fought three-parts-of-a-length win.

The winner had chased home Livelovelaugh at Cork last month on his second outing over fences.

“I’m happy with that. The trip was a little bit short for him but when we saw the race we couldn’t turn away the opportunity. The conditions suited him as he hadn’t got a rating yet,” said Keatley.

“We’ll be looking forward to him when the ground gets a bit nicer. It was slow motion stuff out there today, and when they crossed the line they nearly stopped to a standstill.

“I’m delighted to get him to win and hopefully there is a good pot in him in the spring.”

(Quotes by Alan Magee)